PABLO PICASSO: A RETROSPECTIVE The Museum of Modern Art, New York

THE PICASSO ESTATE WORKS

Throughout the more than seven decades of his long and extra­

ordinarily productive career, Pablo Picasso retained a significant

portion of his output in all mediums — paintings, sculptures,

collages, drawings, prints and ceramics. At his death, in 19 73 at

the age of 91, the artist owned three great houses in his adopted

country of France, and when their contents were inventoried,

Picasso's magnificent collection of his own work was revealed.

In magnitude alone, the estate was incomparable. It took

eleven experts more than three years simply to catalogue the more

than 45,000 works stored in Picasso's homes. Altogether, they

recorded the existence of 1,876 paintings, 1,355 sculptures, 2,880

ceramics, more than 11,000 drawings and sketches, and some 27,000

etchings, engravings and lithographs, plus cardboard constructions,

collages and other works not so easily classified by medium. Offi­

cially appraised at $250 million, the estate was unofficially

estimated by some experts to be worth closer to $400 million.

The quality of the estate, to some critics, is even more

impressive than quantity. According to Dominique Bozo, Curator-

in-Charge of the Musee Picasso, Paris, where many of the finest

estate works will eventually be on permanent exhibition, "his

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50lh Anniversory

PABLO PICASSO: A RETROSPECTIVE has been made possible by a generous grant from IBM. Additional support has been provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts. An indemnity for the exhibition has been provided by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

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private collection, taken by itself, comprises a complete retro­

spective." Picasso retained works from all stages of his career,

and — of special significance — he kept the majority of his

sculptures. He tended, according to William Rubin, co-director

with Mr. Bozo of the exhibition PABLO PICASSO: A RETROSPECTIVE,

"to hold onto the work that he considered most exploratory and

experimental. He needed to have that around him, and for that

reason he kept virtually all his construction sculpture." Picasso

prized above all his Cubist constructions, only two of which he

allowed to leave his studio during his lifetime. "In retaining

virtually his entire output of Cubist sculptures," Rubin explained,

"Picasso confirmed his recognition of its unique position within

his oeuvre."

The Picasso estate proved a revelation to critics when a

selection from the Musee Picasso was displayed in Paris in 1979.

Comments ranged from "stunning" and "overwhelming" to "enough

masterpieces for six great painters." Particular mention of the

special role of Picasso's sculpture within his oeuvre was made by

critic Pierre Schneider of L'Express who wrote, "Until now, Picasso

was for us a language with vowels, but no consonants. Only by

seeing the sculpture together with the pictures do we see that the

sculpture provides the missing consonants." French President

Valery Giscard D'Estaing, characterized Picasso as "the chronicler

of this century's sensibilities."

When it was discovered that Picasso had left no will and that

his estate was almost certain to be embroiled in a long process of

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judicial dispute, it was decided to act on the provisions of a

196 8 law that enables the French government to accept works of

art in lieu of inheritance taxes. Appointed by the French govern­

ment, a group of internationally recognized Picasso scholars and

specialists made a comprehensive selection of works from the

estate. As a result, the new Musee Picasso is being established

in Paris' historic Hotel Sale to receive this collection of some

4,000 works.

Almost 300 of the most important paintings, sculptures and

prints destined for the Musee Picasso will be on view in PABLO

PICASSO: A RETROSPECTIVE. In addition, close to 100 works from

that portion of Picasso's estate held by his heirs will also be

displayed.

PABLO PICASSO: A RETROSPECTIVE has been made possible by a

generous grant from IBM. Additional support has been provided

by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust and the National

Endowment for the Arts. An indemnity for the exhibition has been

provided by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

For further information, please contact Luisa Kreisberg, Director, (212) 956-2648, or Sharon Zane, Associate Director, 956-7295, De­partment of Public Information, The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street, New York, NY 10019.